Dr. Erica Chenoweth, Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University looks at the strategic advantage of nonviolent struggle and civil resistance. Armed insurgency may have triumphed in the Algerian war of independence, the Chinese Revolution, and the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan. These cases, among others, have convinced many observers that violent insurgency is likely to succeed. Moreover, insurgents often claim that they turn to violence as a last resort, having exhausted all other methods of seeking redress for their grievances.

The gun owners of New Jersey have had enough! They’ve tried asking for their rights, they’ve tried protesting in the streets. It’s not working. The tyrants in Trenton are going to take their gun rights away regardless. Seeing that “There *IS* no redress of our LEGITIMATE grievances within the three branches of NJ government.” The New Jersey Second Amendment Society has announced the start of a campaign of civil disobedience. “In a SINCERE effort to avoid an unhappy outcome, we must attempt to reach the public through acts of non-violent civil disobedience.

"...research suggests that having pepper spray could lead to higher numbers of violent incidents." "About 45 percent of U.S. police agencies now allow pepper spray to be used in response to passive resistance...."

Unusual street signs have begun to pop up around central Moscow, carrying a host of different political messages. RT found out who is behind the exciting campaign.
In a sleepy Moscow suburb lurks the leader of a guerilla insurgency. Hiding in plain view, this head of a self-proclaimed resistance movement asks to be identified by his artist name – Made.
The main weapon in his arsenal is political satire. Hoisted upon everyday road signs, Made’s messages have been appearing at well-known landmarks around Russia’s capital.

Now 84, the American academic has dedicated most of his life to the study of the bold idea that nonviolence - rather than violence - is the most effective way of overthrowing corrupt, repressive regimes.

This story is what happens when violence responds to violence. I find this quote disturbing, "Members of so-called patriot groups don't recognize the authority of the U.S. government and consider themselves sovereign citizens."

Will those proclaiming sovereignty as individuals be seen through the a slanted media lens as inherently violent?

Does TV violence cause actual violence? Although there is a widespread belief that watching fictional violence causes people to be more violent, the rise of violence on TV and comparable real-world violence statistics over the past 20 years tell a different story. How does violence on TV affect your beliefs about violent crime? Take a look below.

At the beginning of this year, the book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua has caused fierce discussion on traditional Chinese education methods. Recently another book “Therefore, Beijing University siblings has brought a so-called wolf dad into the spotlight because he too, adopts extremely strict parenting methods and raises 4 well-behaving kids, 3 of whom get into Beijing University, one of the best universities in China. His parenting motto is “beating every 3 days gets your children into Beijing University”.

(from nonviolentpeaceforce.org's mission statement) The mission of Nonviolent Peaceforce is to promote, develop and implement unarmed civilian peacekeeping as a tool for reducing violence and protecting civilians in situations of violent conflict. We envision a world in which large-scale unarmed civilian peacekeeping using proven nonviolent strategies is recognized as a viable alternative in preventing, addressing, and mitigating violent conflicts worldwide. Our primary strategy for achieving this vision is the creation of space to foster dialogue.